A/N this was requested by Let there b light (Guest) on fan fiction archive, where Anne attempts to reconcile with Mary. Hope you all enjoy. Thank you all so much for your support! Please feel free to request more moments, scenarios etc. Thanks again for everything. Please review.
Until next time,
Fionakevin073
In the chaos that was Anne's life for the first two months since her re-coronation, she had been focused on two things: first, her children, as per usual, and then the second was avoiding Henry as much as she could without it being too noticeable to the court or to him.
The Lady Mary had slipped into the back of her mind, being the least of her troubles during those months but now that Anne had begun to adjust to the dramatic changes in her life, she began to notice the girl more often. She was always dressed in dark colours that made the paleness of her skin all the more apparent and did nothing to shape her figure. Anne remembered how Lady Mary had been dressed beautifully when she was last at court, when Lady Seymour was Queen, and thought that it was a clear defiance of Anne's re-coronation.
Unlike when Anne had first been Queen, she no longer feared the Lady Mary. As a matter of fact, Anne shuddered with shame at the horrible thoughts that she had had towards the Lady and her mother and wished desperately to atone.
Lady Mary had every reason to hate her Anne knew that. If she had been in her position, Anne was not sure that she would have been able to forgive her either but all she knew was that she had to try. the Lady Mary may never love her but she did love her father and had been kind to Elizabeth, so perhaps it would be slightly more easier to establish peace between the two.
But how to do it?
Anne thought and pondered about how to begin building her relationship with Lady Mary when one day it hit her. Anne's sons had met the Lady Mary only briefly, during their and Elizabeth's royal procession where they were all made Dukes and a Duchess respectively but it had only been a brief meeting. Perhaps it was through them that Anne could speak with her.
And so one day, she sent Nan to invite the Lady Mary to where she and the children were playing in the gardens, the weather still relatively warm even though it was near September. Anne is sitting on the ground with the boys tickling George and Mark as their siblings laugh and giggle at their plight.
Anne snapped her head to the side when Nan approached, watching as she sank into a deep curtsy. "The Lady Mary, your majesty."
Anne stopped her tickling at once and rose to her feet, causing her children to stare at her confusedly. "Lady Mary," Anne greeted warmly, a small smile on her face as she watched the girl curtsy.
"Majesty," Mary echoed, her voice sullen.
Anne nearly felt herself falter.
"Elizabeth," Anne called out, her smile brightening when she felt her daughter appear at her side. "Boys." She heard them climb up to their feet and placed her hands on Francis and William's shoulder when they came to stand in front of her, smiling curiously at the Lady Mary.
"Boys this is your sister, the Lady Mary," she introduced, watching as Mary bowed at the Prince's before curtsying at Elizabeth. Anne had mentioned Mary to the boys once or twice, so they knew that they had one and was pleased when they did not make any rude or inappropriate comments like asking Mary who her mother was or why she was not a Princess also or why she was their sister but not their mothers child.
"Mary!" Elizabeth chirped happily, moving forward to wrap her arms around her elder sister, causing the girl to blink rapidly with surprise. Though she was slow in her response, Mary returned the gesture, a hesitant smile on her features. The boys waited until Elizabeth returned to her side before greeting Mary.
"Hello," George asked eagerly, "Would you like to play with us Lady Mary?"
"Please," the rest of his siblings sang in unison, causing their half-sibling to let out a started laugh. "Of course, your grace's." Anne gradually began to drift closer to her ladies, watching the siblings play with a lightness in her chest.
It turned out being at peace was far more relaxing then being at war. Anne sat with her ladies nearby, smiling and waving at her children when they turned to look see if she was watching. Then eventually when the boys went to take their nap and Elizabeth returned to her lessons, Anne was finally alone with a slightly more relaxed looking Mary.
Anne dismissed her ladies with a glance and began to walk around the gardens with Mary by her side. There was silence for a few moments before she spoke.
"I know that you may never. . .like me, Lady Mary. I know that that is something beyond your power to give and truth be told, I am not sure that I would like myself very much if I were in your position either. But I am asking— pleading with you, for us to try and gain a semblance of peace. An understanding, if you will. I will never be your mother, I know that. But I also know that you love your siblings and if you can not do it because I ask, I plead with you to try and do it for them."
Something flickers across her face. Something desperate and sad and hopeful and guilty and resigned all at once.
"I can try," she whispers eventually, after Anne feels as though her heart was about to burst, "For their sakes I will try."
Anne smiles.
